Back to school and back to wellness at Westfarms

August 21, 2013

FARMINGTON, Conn. – Ready. Set. School!

As summer winds down, and the kids head back to school, you can make back-to-school shopping an adventure for your kids. This year, take part in the “Ready. Set. School! Scavenger Hunt,” enjoying Wellness at Westfarms while having some fun. Parents and students, grades K-5, will have the chance to turn their shopping experience into an adventure and learn how to make healthy choices from the wellness experts at Hartford HealthCare. Children who take part will receive special prizes from Hartford HealthCare and Westfarms retailers.

The is part of the “Wellness at Westfarms” program, a strategic partnership between Westfarms and Hartford HealthCare that is designed to improve community wellness by providing health information and resources to mall shoppers.

Ready. Set. School! Scavenger Hunt is geared toward teaching healthy lifestyle habits to elementary school students. But parents can join in the fun, too, by taking their children to the Westfarms Customer Service Desk from Aug. 19 through Sept. 14. There, parents can register for the self-guided scavenger hunt. Kids will receive a packet of clues as they search for answers to healthy lifestyle questions found on posters throughout the upper and lower levels of the shopping center. Upon completion of the adventure, children will receive a back-to-school bag with special prizes and offers to help start off the school year right. The offer is open to the first 250 people to register.

“Westfarms is enjoying its ongoing partnership with Hartford HealthCare and collaborating on unique programs like the Ready. Set. School! scavenger hunt. In addition to teaching health and wellness to our core shoppers, we are delighted to be reaching the younger generation at the shopping center with such important messages,” said Kevin Keenan, general manager of Westfarms, in a press release. ”The scavenger hunt is a perfect segue for parents to talk to their children about things that support success in school including healthy eating, getting enough sleep and exercising, which are all messages shoppers will find throughout the center.”

“This partnership makes it possible for Westfarms and Hartford HealthCare to collaborate in providing wellness services and resources in a retail venue that is convenient for hundreds of thousands of people,” said James Blazar, chief strategy officer and senior vice president, in a press release. “Our goal is to improve community wellness by increasing access to vital health information and educational resources. As the leading health care provider in the region, this is one of the ways we are able to connect with those in the communities we serve.”